


It Binds The Galaxy Together

by Duck_Life



Category: Lab Rats (TV 2012)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Family, Gen, Jedi Knights, Lightsabers, Rebellion, Science Fiction, Servants, The Force
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-03-08 09:30:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13455393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duck_Life/pseuds/Duck_Life
Summary: When Jedi Leo is captured by the Empire, he crosses the first line toward connecting a family that has for too long been separated across the stars.





	1. Worldly Possessions

“Finish polishing those gears,” the boss tells him, glowering from the other side of the shop. “And then you need to get to work scouring the underside of the register. Did an awful job last time.” 

“Yes, sir.” Marcus keeps his head ducked and keeps working on the gears in front of him, so he doesn’t notice when a beautiful woman with short black hair walks into the shop. Doesn’t notice until the boss starts trying to sell her on a pair of Calderan gambling dice.

“One of a kind, gold plated,” he says, dangling them in front of the woman’s face. “For you? I’d let them go for fifteen credits.” 

“Eh.” The woman walks through the store, looking like she’s prowling more so than browsing. When she nears the back, her eyes fall on Marcus. He looks at her like a tauntaun caught in headlights. “How much for the droid?” she calls to the boss. 

The boss grumbles. “Not for sale.” 

“I’ll give you nine hundred.” 

It sounds like the boss chokes on a glob of phlegm. “N-nine hundred? For that piece of junk?” Marcus tries not to let the comment affect him. He knows what he is. He’s always known. “You got it, stranger.” 

The woman passes over the money and then turns her attention back toward Marcus. “What’s its designation?” 

“Uh—”

“Marcus,” Marcus says quietly, looking down at his feet. 

The woman looks taken aback. “Marcus? Human name, human appearance… whoever made you must’ve been trying to pass you off as a person.” He doesn’t respond, just keeps looking at his feet. “Well, come on then.” 

He’s been working at that store for over five years, ever since the boss purchased him from a pack of jawas. And when he finally walks away, Marcus doesn’t look back. 

* * *

“Focus!” Krane lashes out, his pulsating red lightsaber swinging dangerously close to her. “You aren’t  _ concentrating _ , S-1. How do you expect to master the Force when you can’t even master your own attention span?”

“I’m sorry,” S-1 chokes out, eyes on the floor. “Let me try again.” She looks at the black staff in front of her, the staff she’s been trying to summon to her hand for the past two hours. Hand outstretched, she reaches out,  _ pulls _ as hard as she can… nothing. 

Krane lets out an exasperated sigh, and S-1 flinches instinctively. She knows what to expect from her teacher when he’s upset with her. “Do you think this is a game? You think this doesn’t matter?” Krane hisses. “Do you need a reminder of why you’re here, S-1? You alone of all the Stormtooper recruits showed signs of sensitivity to the Force. That is the  _ only _ thing that differentiates you from those other  _ expendable _ bucketheads. And if you don’t get yourself under control, you’re useless to me. You understand?”

S-1 shuts her eyes, trying to do as he says. Trying to master her emotions. “I understand.” 

* * *

“C’mon, c’mon.” Leo bangs on the console in front of him like that’s going to make the information download any faster. If he could use the Force on computer software, he would. Right now all he can do is wait and hope. 

He can hear the heavy footfalls outside the door of the old rebel station. Any minute now those Stormtroopers will flood the halls and take him into captivity, and the files the Rebel Alliance needs will be lost forever— or worse, in the hands of the Empire. 

Eighty-four percent, eighty-five. Leo swears under his breath, and in his anxiety a row of trinkets on the opposite wall rattle. The plan was supposed to be simple— get in, get the files, get out. Chase is still waiting in the ship at their rendezvous point, and Leo knows he’s supposed to be there with him right now. 

The computer stalls again. Leo clenches his fist and realizes he needs to make a decision— stay or go. Abandon the files and save himself, or stick around… Rationally, if he gets caught, the files are lost anyway. And he doesn’t need to give the Empire another hostage. 

Unfortunately, just as he’s made this decision, Leo hears the door slide open behind him. And he hears the Stormtrooper who caught him speak. 

“ _ Rebel scum. _ ” 

* * *

For one fleeting moment, Bree admires herself in the long gold-framed mirror. She’s not much to admire: a simple smock that needs to be cleaned, nails torn up, dark eyes, too thin. But still, it’s nice to see herself outside of Princess Lexi’s shadow for once.

“Bree?” 

“Coming,” she says, tucking her hair back into a bun and rushing to help Lexi with whatever it is this time. Last week she had a special dinner with one of the First Order’s most distinguished general and Bree spent four hours working on her hair, make-up and clothes. “Yes, ma’am?” 

“I broke a vase, could you sweep it up?” Lexi says, without sparing a glance toward her chambermaid. She’s too concerned with something happening on the holopad in front of her. 

“Yes, ma’am.” Biting her lip, Bree grabs a broom and dustpan and gets to work. She didn’t hear the vase shattering, so it must have happened earlier. Maybe Lexi got angry and threw it across the room. Maybe, Bree thinks bitterly, Lexi broke it just to give her something menial to do. 

“Did you know that Chancellor Krane is aboard this cruiser?” Lexi says conversationally. “I’m so thrilled to meet him. I have so many questions about all the things he’s doing to keep the galaxy safe.”

“Yeah, safe,” Bree mumbles under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, ma’am.” 

“I thought so.” Very deliberately, Lexi pushes one of her glass jewelry boxes off her vanity and onto the floor. “Could you clean that up, dear?” 


	2. Hearts Were Made To Be Broken

Two guards with vice-like grips on Leo’s arms lead him aboard the Imperial cruiser and toward Chancellor Krane’s throne room. Leo fidgets the whole time, panic eating away at his chest as they walk him into the room with Krane. This was meant to be a simple in-and-out mission, and now he’s trapped. Captured. He doesn’t know how he’ll explain it to Chase… if he ever sees Chase again. 

“Welcome,” Krane says from his seat, leering down at Leo. “So… this is what the Jedi Order has to offer.” 

The guards let him go and Leo stumbles to catch himself. He doesn’t look at Krane, keeping his eyes firmly on the floor. But then he feels Krane  _ push _ his chin upward, the sinister side of the Force making him look up at the chancellor. 

“Silly child,” Krane scoffs. Leo’s never felt smaller.

But while he’s looking at Krane, he notices someone else standing beside the chancellor— a girl, about his age, with long dark hair. From the way she’s dressed she must be part of the Empire, possibly Krane’s apprentice. But her eyes… she doesn’t look like one of them. 

Actually, she looks just as scared as Leo. 

“Tell me,” Krane says finally, “where the rebels have relocated.” 

Leo clamps his mouth shut and tries to do the same to his mind. He can feel Krane  _ pushing _ at his thoughts, flicking through like he’s reading a book. Leo tries to hide the important things: his mom, Chase, Big D, and, most importantly, the thing Krane’s after— the location of the rebel base.

Fortunately, Krane doesn’t find what he’s looking for in Leo’s head. He snarls at the Stormtroopers, “Throw him in a cell and let him wear himself out pounding on the walls.” And then Leo’s whisked away once more. 

* * *

Chase touches down on Lithios and he’s yelling before his feet hit the ground, sprinting toward Douglas and Donald Davenport. “They got him, the Stormtroopers got Leo,” he says, his lightsaber hilt banging against his hip as he runs. “He never made it to our rendezvous point so then I hacked into the Imperial comms and… and they were talking about some rebel they captured.”

“We’ll get him back,” Donald promises defiantly. Beside him, his younger brother’s already flicking through all the intel they have on the monitor, piecing together a strategy. 

“I was supposed to protect him,” Chase says, feeling helpless. Leo’s been his best friend for a long time; the two were like brothers. “If he doesn’t make it back…”

“He’ll make it back,” Donald says. 

But Douglas doesn’t look as reassuring. “Chase,” he says slowly, “was the ship they took him aboard… was it the  _ Triton _ ?” 

“Yeah.”

Douglas goes white as a ghost. “That’s Victor Krane’s ship.”

* * *

Chancellor Krane retires to his quarters to wind down after interrogating the rebel, leaving S-1 free to do as she pleases. Well, not exactly  _ free _ … she barely knows the meaning of the word. Krane’s apprentice for years, and an Imperial Stormtrooper before that, she can’t remember a life that didn’t involve pain and power.

She thinks, suddenly, of the rebel, locked in a cell a few halls away. He’s in there and she’s out here, and that  _ should _ mean that she’s free. 

It doesn’t. 

As she paces aimlessly, more scared with every passing moment that one of her superiors will find her and give her a mission, force her to hurt more innocent people, S-1 develops a plan. It’s not a foolproof plan. In fact, it could be a terrible plan. 

But it would set her free.

Mind made, S-1 marches toward the  _ Triton _ ’s prisoner block. 

* * *

Chase Davenport hovers apprehensively outside his uncle’s quarters. After realizing that Leo was trapped on Krane’s cruiser, Douglas had excused himself and retired to his room. But Chase still had more questions.

His younger cousin, Daniel, watched him from the corner. “He won’t let you in,” Daniel says. “He doesn’t want to talk to anyone.” 

“But I want to talk to him,” Chase says, staring at the door like he can force it open. 

Or maybe he can. 

“Douglas!” Chase calls. 

“Not now,” comes his uncle’s muffled response. 

Chase clenches his hand into a fist, concentrating. “ _ You will open the door _ .”

Douglas does open the door… but only so he can glare at his nephew. “Donnie’s been trying that Jedi mind trick crap on me since we were kids,” he says derisively. “You really think you can trip me up?”

“Well,” Chase says, “you  _ did _ open the door.”

Douglas sighs. “What do you want, Chase?”

“What’s your deal with Krane?”

“There’s no ‘deal’ with Krane,” Douglas says. Behind Chase, Daniel seems interested to hear his dad’s answer. “He’s a fascist. I don’t need to have a personal problem with him to hate him.”

“Yeah, but you  _ do _ ,” Chase says. “You do have a personal problem with him… right?” 

Douglas sighs again and looks over at Daniel. “Can we talk about this without little ears listening in?”

“No, I want to hear,” Daniel pipes up. “I’m not a kid anymore. I’m almost thirteen!”

Douglas smooths his hand over his face, looking older than he actually is. “Okay, fine,” he gives in. “Come on.”

The boys walk into Douglas’ room. It’s sparsely decorated, with a few bracelets strewn on one table and several spare parts clanking around. His bed isn’t made. Douglas sinks down onto one corner of his messy bunks and looks up at Daniel and Chase. “Yes, okay? Yes. I have a problem with Krane. He… you can’t judge me for this. He broke my heart.” 

Chase stares at his uncle. Daniel puts a hand on Douglas’ shoulder, frowning. “So you… knew him?” Chase says. “Before he turned evil?”

Douglas shakes his head. “Nope. I knew him before  _ I _ turned good.” 

“Oh.” Chase knew Douglas’ history, at least, the parts that Donald was willing to share. That he made weapons for the Empire before defecting. 

“We used to have all these dreams and schemes,” Douglas admits. “But… but in the end, he decided having all the power was more important than keeping me around. And around the time he decided he didn’t need me, I started to see the ugly underside of the Empire. So I got out.” 

Daniel leans over and hugs Douglas, and Douglas loops an arm around his kid. 

“I’m sorry,” Chase says, looking cowed. 

“You would’ve found out sooner or later,” Douglas says. “But now you understand: my problem with Krane isn’t really a problem with  _ Krane _ . It’s a problem with me. If he comes after us in person… if we have to fight him, I don’t know that I’m strong enough. I don’t know that I’d be able to stand up to him.”

“I will be,” Chase promises. “I’ll be strong enough.”

“Yeah, me too,” Daniel pipes up. “Nobody walks out on my dad.” Chase laughs and ruffles his cousin’s mop of sandy blond hair. Douglas smiles, but Chase can tell that his mind’s still on Victor Krane. 


	3. New Names, New Faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it turns out I had written a chapter for this and never published it. Lemme know if you want me to continue, I just might!

Fingers laced together in his lap, Leo stares down at the floor of his cell. It’s been scrubbed and polished thoroughly, and the harsh light overhead bounces off the metal.

He’s not going to break— that’s what he’s decided while sitting in here in the quiet. He’ll die before they break him.

Leo looks up when he hears the mechanical door slide open. He expects Krane, or a Stormtrooper, but he’s surprised; it’s the girl from before. Krane’s apprentice. “What are you doing here?”

“Rescuing you,” she says bluntly. “Get a move on!” She walks away swiftly, leaving the door open.

Leo shakes his head like there’s water in his ears. Then he gets up and follows the girl. “I don’t get it,” he says in a stage whisper as he catches up to her. “Why are you helping me? Is this a trick?”

“If this were a trick, I’d already be in your head,” she says back. “You need out; I want out. But… I can’t do it alone. Without help, I won’t last a day away from the Empire.” She halts by a corner, throwing one arm out to keep him from advancing. “You in?”

“Y-yeah,” Leo says.

“Awesome. Krane told me he was keeping something for me in one of these compartments,” she says, turning the corner and opening a few of the panels. They store weapons like blasters and stun guns and… lightsabers. “Here it is.” She pulls out a saber hilt, and Leo has to admit, it _does_ look like it was made for her. It fits in her hand. She activates it, and Leo’s not really surprised to see that the blade is red. She digs around in the compartment before handing Leo another hilt. “Here, you’ll need this. I think Chancellor Krane took it off a Jedi he fought.”

Leo takes the saber… and immediately recognizes it. “This belonged to the man who trained me.”

He sees that same look in her eyes from when Krane was interrogating him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, he’s still alive,” Leo says, and activates the lightsaber. It flares up bright blue, and it’s almost like he can feel Big D beside him, teaching him, training him. “I’m Leo, by the way. What’s your name?”

“S-1,” she says, before turning and marching down the corridor.

Leo shakes his head before hurrying to catch up with her. “S-1? That’s not a name.”

“That’s the only name anyone ever gave me.”

“I could give you a new one,” Leo says, and then he falters. “If… if you want, I mean.” They’re moving quickly and quietly through the corridors, and Leo hopes she has a plan. He sure doesn’t. “Would that be okay?”

“I guess I can’t stop you,” she shrugs, but there’s a curious look in her eyes.

“Okay…” Leo says, adjusting his grip on the lightsaber. “What about Charlotte?”

“Bleurgh.” She shakes her head and wrinkles her nose to be sure he gets the message.

“Amanda? Rebecca? Dani? Leia? Taylor?”

“Taylor.” She nods, rolling the name around in her head. “Taylor. I like that. Yes, okay, you can call me Taylor.”

Leo grins. “It’s nice to meet you, Taylor.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Leo.” She glances up at a monitor on the wall. Little blinking red lights indicate that the prisoner (Leo) is out of his cell. “We need to get going. They’ll be after us.”

And Taylor hurries through the labyrinthine corridors of the cruiser.

* * *

 Bree spots the missing prisoner light blinking on-screen while Princess Lexi is still having dinner with Chancellor Krane. From her cabin adjacent to Lexi’s quarters, she watches all the little lights go off.

The lights from the open cell. The lights that indicate weapons being taken out of Krane’s private selection. The lights that indicate a squad of Stormtroopers being dispatched to stop the prisoner.

Bree knows exactly what all the lights mean: a distraction. A chance for her to escape.

She moves swiftly, pulling her loose hair into a ponytail and trading out her slippers for sensible boots. She steals one of Lexi’s fancy coats and sneaks into the corridor. It’s empty and quiet, and her chest fills with excitement.

And then Bree does what she’s wanted to do since the day she came into Lexi’s ownership— Bree runs.

* * *

 “In here,” Taylor says, taking a hairpin turn down another corridor into the central hangar. Rows of TIE fighters stretch out before them.

Leo looks around. “Do you know how to fly one of these?”

“I hope so.” It doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. The hangar looks strangely empty— all the troopers must be roaming the halls looking for them. But it won’t last, they both know that. Taylor stalks forward, her lightsaber held aloft.

Just then, a squad of Stormtroopers burst into the room on the opposite side of them. “Let’s go,” Leo yells, grabbing Taylor’s arm and running to the nearest TIE. He helps her up and then climbs into the cockpit. Leo and Taylor stow their sabers and look around at the equipment; she’s in the pilot’s seat, he’s in the gunner’s.

Outside, the lead Stormtrooper starts shouting commands. The troopers fire their blasters, and their TIE takes a hit to the side. “Come on!” Leo says.

Taylor flips all the right switches and jerks the controls upward. The TIE starts to zip away… but then it jerks back. “No,” Taylor says, eyes wide. “It’s still anchored.”

The Stormtroopers keep firing, hitting the TIE repeatedly until it crashes to the floor of the hangar, and then Leo and Taylor are engulfed in smoke.

* * *

 Bree clambers into the cockpit of Princess Lexi’s personal shuttle. Maybe not the smartest move, but it makes her feel good to know that she’s taking something from the girl who took so much from her. The ship is glossy red and stashed away in a corner of the central hangar.

Her hands hover over the controls, preparing to leave, but then she spies movement on the other side of the hangar. Stormtroopers crowd around the smoking wreckage of a TIE. As the smoke gets thicker, several of them start backing toward the door, protecting themselves.

Even from the distance, Bree can see the movement from within the wreckage— the two people trapped inside. The escaped prisoner and his accomplice.

Bree could leave. With everyone else on the cruiser distracted, she might even be able to escape completely without detection. She could escape, start her new life away from the Empire. And leave the strangers in the TIE to die, or worse.

It’s a pretty easy choice, actually. Bree punches the ignition and takes the shuttle into the air, hovering only meters above the hangar floor. She zooms across the hangar toward the wrecked TIE, hoping the Stormtroopers take a moment to realize she’s not trying to help them.

Bree pops open the hatch on the floor of the shuttle and drops to her knees, plunging one arm into the smoke and rubble. “Come on!” she yells, waiting, wondering if the other escapees have died of smoke inhalation or been shot already.

Finally, she feels someone grab onto her hand. It’s a boy, a rebel judging by his clothes. He climbs into the ship with her and then helps another girl up. Bree recognizes her as Krane’s apprentice. Not anymore, apparently.

Bree swings the hatch shut and jumps back into the pilot’s seat, and within seconds the three of them are careening away from the _Triton_.

“So,” Bree says breathlessly, swinging the shuttle around the avoid getting hit; the cannons on the cruiser have started firing at them. “I’m Bree. Who are you?”

“Leo Dooley,” the boy says, a kind of crazed half-smile on his face as he watches the _Triton_ shrink into the distance.

“I’m Taylor,” Krane’s apprentice says. She says it like she’s still unused to the name, trying it out. Bree glances back at the girl and thinks, _Yeah_. Taylor suits her.


End file.
